Witness Lee Outline

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

BACKGROUND by Witness Lee

Author: Matthew, also called Levi, formerly a tax collector, later an apostle (9:9; Luke 5:27), as indicated by the omitted reference to him as the host of the reception in 9:10 and by the special mentioning of him as the tax collector in 10:3.
Time of Writing: Approximately A.D. 37-40, shortly after the Lord’s resurrection (28:15) and prior to the destruction of the temple (24:2).
Place of Writing: Probably the land of Judea.
Recipients: The Jews in general, as indicated by the absence of explanations about Jewish customs and festivals (15:2, c.f. Mark 7:2-3; Matt. 26:17, c.f. Mark 14:12).

SUBJECT by Witness Lee

The Gospel of the Kingdom—
Proving That Christ Is the King-Savior

OUTLINE by Witness Lee

The King’s antecedents and status (1:1—2:23)
1. His genealogy and office—called Christ (1:1-17)
2. His origin and name—born a God-man, named Jesus, called Emmanuel by men (1:18-25)
3. His youth and growth—called a Nazarene (2:1-23)
  1. Sought and worshipped by the Gentile magi (2:1-12)
  2. Envied by Herod the king (2:7-8)
  3. Fleeing to Egypt (2:13-15)
  4. Sought by Herod the king for destruction (2:16-18)
  5. Returning to dwell in Nazareth (2:19-23)
The King’s Anointing (3:1—4:11)
1. Recommended (3:1-12)
2. Anointed (3:13-17)
3. Tested (4:1-11)
The King’s Ministry (4:12—11:30)
1. The beginning of the ministry (4:12-25)
2. The decree of the kingdom’s constitution (5:1—7:29)
  1. Concerning the nature of the kingdom people (5:1-12)
  2. Concerning the influence of the kingdom people (5:13-16)
  3. Concerning the law of the kingdom people (5:17-48)
  4. Concerning the righteous deeds of the kingdom people (6:1-18)
  5. Concerning the material riches of the kingdom people (6:19-34)
  6. Concerning the principles of the kingdom people in dealing with others (7:1-12)
  7. Concerning the ground of the kingdom people’s living and work (7:13-29)
3. The continuation of the ministry (8:1—9:34)
  1. Signs with dispensational significance (8:1-17)
  2. The way to follow the King (8:18-22)
  3. The authority of the King (8:23—9:8)
    1. Over the winds and the sea (8:23-27)
    2. Over the demons (8:28-34)
    3. To forgive sins (9:1-8)
  4. Rejoicing with the sinners (9:9-13)
  5. Being incompatible with religion (9:14-17)
  6. Signs with dispensational significance repeated (9:18-34)
4. The enlargement of the ministry (9:35—11:1)
  1. The need of shepherding and reaping (9:35-38)
  2. The selection and sending out of the workers (10:1-5a)
  3. The way to spread the gospel of the kingdom to the house of Israel (10:5b-15)
  4. Persecution and the way to meet it (10:16-33)
  5. The disturbance brought in by the King and the way of the cross to follow Him (10:34-39)
  6. The King’s identification with the sent ones (10:40—11:1)
5. The King’s poise and attitude toward every situation (11:2-30)
  1. Strengthening His imprisoned forerunner (11:2-6)
  2. Appraising His forerunner (11:7-15)
  3. Lamenting and reproaching the stubborn and unrepentant generation (11:16-24)
  4. Acknowledging the Father’s will with extolment (11:25-27)
  5. Calling the burdened to rest and the way to rest (11:28-30)
The King’s being rejected (12:1—27:66)
1. The establishment of rejection (12:1-50)
  1. The cause of rejection (12:1-14)
  2. Rejection causing the King’s turn to the Gentiles (12:15-21)
  3. The climax of rejection (12:22-37)
  4. The sign to the rejecting generation (12:38-42)
  5. The rejecting generation becoming worse (12:43-45)
  6. Rejection resulting in the King’s forsaking (12:46-50)
2. The unveiling of the kingdom’s mysteries (13:1-52)
  1. The preliminary work of the kingdom (13:1-23)
  2. The establishment of the kingdom and its false constituents (13:24-30)
  3. The abnormal development of the outward appearance of the kingdom (13:31-32)
  4. The inward corruption of the outward appearance of the kingdom (13:33-35)
  5. The establishment of the kingdom and its false constituents (continued) (13:36-43)
  6. The kingdom hidden in the God-created earth (13:44)
  7. The church produced out of the Satan-corrupted world (13:45-46)
  8. The eternal gospel and its result (13:47-50)
  9. The treasure of things new and old (13:51-52)
3. The increase of rejection (13:53—16:12)
  1. Rejection by His countrymen (13:53-58)
  2. Rejection by the heathen tetrarch (14:1-13)
  3. The miracle of feeding five thousand (14:14-21)
  4. The miracle of walking on the sea (14:22-33)
  5. Healing by the fringe of the King’s garment (14:34-36)
  6. The accusation by the traditional religionists (15:1-20)
  7. The faith of a Gentile woman (15:21-28)
  8. Healing for the glorification of God (15:29-31)
  9. The miracle of feeding four thousand (15:32-39)
  10. Temptation by the fundamentalists and the modernists (16:1-12)
4. The path of rejection (16:13—23:39)
  1. Before going to Judea (16:13—18:35)
    1. The revelation of Christ and the church (16:13-20)
    2. The first unveiling of the crucifixion and resurrection (16:21-27)
    3. Transfiguration in the miniature of the kingdom (16:28—17:13)
    4. The casting out of an epileptic demon (17:14-21)
    5. The second unveiling of the crucifixion and resurrection (17:22-23)
    6. The application of the revelation and vision of Christ’s sonship (17:24-27)
    7. Relationships in the kingdom (18:1-35)
  2. After arriving in Judea (19:1—20:16)
    1. Healing of the following crowd (19:2)
    2. Further temptation by the fundamentalists (19:3-12)
    3. Laying hands on the children (19:13-15)
    4. The way for a rich man to enter into the kingdom (19:16-26)
    5. The reward of the kingdom (19:27—20:16)
  3. On the way to Jerusalem (20:17—21:11)
    1. The third unveiling of the crucifixion and resurrection (20:17-19)
    2. The throne of the kingdom and the cup of the cross (20:20-28)
    3. The healing of the two blind men (20:29-34)
    4. A warm welcome to the meek King (21:1-11)
  4. In Jerusalem (21:12—23:39)
    1. Cleansing the temple (21:12-16)
    2. Lodging in Bethany (21:17)
    3. Cursing the nation of Israel (21:18-22)
    4. Tested (21:23—22:46)
    5. Rebuking the religionists (23:1-36)
    6. Forsaking Jerusalem with its temple (23:37-39)
5. The prophecy of the kingdom (24:1—25:46)
  1. Concerning Israel (24:1-31)
    1. From Christ’s ascension to the consummation of the age (24:1-14)
    2. At the consummation of the age (24:15-31)
  2. Concerning the church (24:32—25:30)
    1. Watching and being ready (24:32-44)
    2. Being faithful and prudent (24:45-51)
    3. A parable for watchfulness (25:1-13)
    4. A parable for faithfulness (25:14-30)
  3. Concerning the nations (25:31-46)
    1. Christ coming to be enthroned in glory (25:31)
    2. Gathering all the nations for the exercising of judgment (25:32-46)
6. The completion of rejection (26:1—27:66)
  1. The fourth unveiling of the crucifixion (26:1-2)
  2. Plotted against by religion (26:3-5)
  3. Loved by the beloved disciples (26:6-13)
  4. Betrayed by the false disciple (26:14-16)
  5. Keeping the last passover (26:17-25)
  6. Establishing the King’s feast (26:26-30)
  7. Warning the disciples (26:31-35)
  8. Pressed in Gethsemane (26:36-46)
  9. Arrested by religion (26:47-56)
  10. Judged by the Sanhedrin (26:57-68)
  11. Denied by Peter (26:69-75)
  12. Judged by Pilate (27:1-26)
  13. Mocked by the heathen soldiers (27:27-32)
  14. Crucified (27:33-56)
    1. Killed and mocked by men (27:33-44)
    2. Judged and forsaken by God (27:45-50)
    3. The effect of His crucifixion (27:51-56)
  15. Buried by a rich man (27:57-66)
The King’s victory (28:1-20)
1. Resurrected (28:1-15)
2. Reigning (28:16-20)